China is developing a floating nuclear power station that could be deployed to the South China Sea

A
man stands guard at the entrance to the nuclear power plant in
Qinshan, in China's Zhejiang province.Reinhard
Krause/Reuters

While tensions are flaring in the South China Sea, recent
reports from leading Chinese nuclear engineers won't
be relieving that sentiment any time soon — according to
ChinaDaily, the country is now developing a
new vessel-installed nuclear power station.

This ship — estimated to be
complete by 2018 and fully operational by 2019 — would
potentially be able to provide a source of electricity to
isolated locations in the sea, including the highly contested
South China Sea.

“Normally, we burn oil for power,
but the problem with the fuel is that the cost is not only high
but sometimes you have to transport it in a long distance,” Chief
Engineer of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) Lei
Zengguang said to ChinaDaily. “Nuclear power, however, is
cost-effective and the fuel only needs to be recharged every
year-and-a-half."

With this newfound source of
power, experts also claimed that the country would be able to
ramp up commercial development in the South China Sea by
providing power to lighthouses, defense facilities, airports, and
harbors.

It’s yet unclear how many of
these vessels will be constructed or precisely where they’ll be
dispersed — Zengguang reasoned that it would depend on market
demand.

Regardless, this doesn’t bode well for those that have a
territorial stake in the region. Amidst the recent ruling against Beijing by
the Hague-based international tribunal, China is
encouraging commercial activity as well as developing
structures — such as resorts, hospitals, and even farms — in the South China Sea.